Verde Art Gallery in Kingston to host a ‘quiet’ exhibit

Artist Joe Kazimierczyk will hold ‘meet and greet’ Sunday

BY SAM SLAUGHTERStaff Writer

To local artist Joe Kazimierczyk, there is nothing sweeter than home, sweet home.

Starting Feb. 27, local residents and all those who appreciate art
will be able to see just how sweet it is, when Kazimierczyk’s landscape
paintings will be on display at the Verde Art Gallery in Kingston.

“Painterly Poetry of Quiet Places” will showcase a wide selection of
Kazimierczyk’s work, which focuses on the local area, according to
gallery spokesperson Nicole Robinson.

Residing in the Sourlands Mountains near Neshanic Station,
Kazimierczyk rides his bike to access, observe and then paint onsite —
or en plein air — the local landscapes of Hunterdon, Mercer and Somerset counties in New Jersey as well as Bucks County in Pennsylvania.

“The wonderful thing about Joe’s work is that it’s scenes in central New Jersey that we see day after day,” Robinson said.

Robinson
said that many of Kazimierczyk’s works are around 11 inches by 14
inches, since he needs to be able to transport all of the materials —
the paint, brushes, canvas and his painting box — with him on his bike.

“He chooses his spot by the lighting, by the landscape and by the
weather, and then he’ll return to the spot and paint it,” which is what
makes Kazimierczyk’s paintings so special, Robinson explained. “As the
light changes, you can almost see it on the canvas. Maybe it takes him a
few minutes to get it down, and by then the light’s shifted. You really
see that.”

A painter for over 25 years, Kazimierczyk has had numerous gallery
showings and has won a variety of awards for his work. Most recently, he
received “Best in Show” in 2009 and 2010 at the Hillsborough Cultural
Arts Commission shows.

Kazimierczyk’s
work is part of the permanent collections of the Mercer County Cultural
& Heritage Commission and the New Jersey Department of Human
Services. He is also a member of the Lambertvillebased The Artists’
Gallery co-operative.

The Verde Art Gallery will host Kazimierczyk’s work Feb. 27 to March
30. A reception with Kazimierczyk will be held 3-5 p.m. Feb. 27. The
gallery is located at 4492 Route 27 in Kingston, next to Eno Terra’s
restaurant.

This summer, the gallery will be showing two juried shows, one open
to all artists and one for the Princeton Photography Club, Robinson
said.

The Verde Art Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment.